So I was at the Burlington Mall this past weekend when I slowly started to hear the distinctive sounds of ABBA echoing throughout the hallways. As I got closer to the source of the music, I was surprised to discover four women dressed in Mamma Mia! T-shirts, walking around handing out “$3 off!” coupons for the DVD/Ray, and singing some of the greatest hits from the soundtrack. More importantly, two of them had TVs in their T-shirts. Yes. Working television screens. In their shirts.

I was able to whip out my Flip camera to record an ultra-brief interview I had with one of them. As my colleague Eric D Snider put it, “It’s part woman, part machine, all monster!”

Turns out the strategy might have bore some fruit: According to Universal, Mamma Mia! sold over 2.25 million copies on DVD and Blu-Ray yesterday (December 16) alone. That’s revenue of over $30 million in one day. To compare, The Dark Knight sold almost 3 million copies on its first day; significantly better, but The Dark Knight is one of the most successful films of all time. In short, Mamma Mia! continues to clean up in home video as it did in theaters (it’s made over a half a billion worldwide). Maybe mobile karaoke teams in American malls will be the next big thing in home video advertising?

Discuss: Would these women motivate you to buy the new DVD / Blu-Ray of Mamma Mia!?

This Week in DVD is a column that compiles all the latest info regarding new DVD releases, sales, and exclusive deals from stores including Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Fry’s.

Please don’t take the commentary on the movies and TV shows too seriously, as they’re meant not to be reviews but rather previews that include the general thoughts and ramblings of a twice-committed DVD addict. The categories represent solely the author’s intentions towards the DVDs at hand, and are in no way meant to be a reflection on what he thinks other people should rent or buy. So if he ends up putting a movie you like in the “Skip it” section without having seen it, please keep in mind that the time you could spend leaving a spiteful but ultimately futile comment could instead be used for more pleasant things in life. Like buying DVDs.

GENERATION KILL “From the creator of The Wire.” That’s all I need to hear to convince me to blind-buy this set, and this is coming from somebody who has blind-bought less than five movies/TV shows his entire life. This time around, David Simon tackles the Iraq war, and although I’ve grown a little tired of all the recent films that have attempted (and mostly failed) to accurately depict the subject, I’m looking forward to seeing if Simon has managed to imbue the same harsh realism and poignancy in this HBO series as he did for The Wire. Stay tuned to future /Filmcast episodes to find out.Blu-ray? No.Notable Extras: Commentary (from creators David Simon and Ed Burns, and from the author Evan Wright), Eric Ladin’s Video Diaries, and featurettes (‘Making Generation Kill’, ‘Generation Kill: A Conversation with the 1st Recon Marines’).

AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE (VOL. 6) Many Aqua Teen fans have commented that season 5 (aka Vol. 6) of Aqua Teen is the show’s worst outing to date. I would take their word for it, but I seem to recall similar complaints about season 4 (aka Vol. 5) and even the Aqua Teen movie, both of which I later ended up loving. Is it actually possible that some people out there are over-analyzing a TV show that features a talking milkshake and meatball? I’ll let you be the judge.Blu-ray? No.Notable Extras: Carl’s sports blogs, 15-minute “short” Terrorphone, comedy bits/outtakes from the ATHF video game, and 3D video game cinematics from Russia.

MAMMA MIA! THE MOVIE(Available as single-disc and 2-Disc Special Edition) I want so badly to hate this movie, but after having to endure several songs on the Mamma Mia! soundtrack due to the eagerness of some of my female compatriots, I found myself forced to contend with a painful realization: I… like ABBA. Yes, it’s true. And as such, it’s only natural to assume that enjoying the movie that accompanies the songs isn’t out of the realm of possibility, regardless of whether or not my manhood is willing to accept that. But I suppose admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery, right?Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: The single-disc release includes a commentary with director Phyllida Lloyd, an all-new musical number “The Name of The Game”, and a sing-along function. The 2-disc includes that, plus 3 featurettes (‘The Making of Mamma Mia!’, ‘Becoming a Singer’, ‘On Location’), Amanda Seyfried’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” music video, deleted scenes, outtakes, and a digital copy of the film.

TRAITOR(Releases December 19, 2008) I was pretty disappointed with this film after seeing it in theaters. It was presented as a spy thriller, but it’s really more of a drama, and a rather generic one at that. As competently made and acted as it is, there’s nothing to make it stand out against the several dozen other films that cover very much the same territory. It’s a worthwhile rental, certainly, but nothing you need to buy.Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: An audio commentary and behind the scenes footage.

THE HOUSE BUNNY(Releases December 19, 2008) The only reason this movie isn’t being thrown into the “skip it” section is because I adore Anna Faris, and even if it means having to endure such a formulaic comedy as this, I’m willing to give anything she stars in a chance. Naturally, this hasn’t been working out too well for me, what with a large portion of her movie credits coming from the Scary Movie series. C’mon Anna! You deserve better than this!Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: Deleted scenes and featurettes (‘Anna Faris: House Mom’, ‘Colin Hanks: Mr. Nice Guy’, ‘House Bunny Style’, ‘The Girls of Zeta’, ‘Calendar Girls’, ‘House Bunny Memories’, ‘From Song to Set: Katherine McPhee’).

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR(Available as single-disc and 2-Disc Deluxe Edition) There comes a point in some films where you stop paying attention to what’s happening on screen and start thinking about the many more worthwhile things you could be doing with your time (like eating a bowl of nails, for instance). With The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, I experienced that point at about the scene where a group of Yetis cheer in celebration after punting a human over a Chinese temple as if they had just scored a touchdown. This is a film so unbelievably stupid, so devoid of personality, so blandly artificial, it defies all reason for existence. Even expecting the mildest sense of “dumb fun” from this piece of trash is asking way too much. It’s by far one of the worst movies I’ve seen all year.Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: The two-disc includes a commentary with director Rob Cohen, deleted and extended scenes, featurettes (‘Jet Li: Crafting the Emperor Mummy’, ‘From City to Desert’, ‘Legacy of the Terra Cotta’, ‘Creating New and Supernatural Worlds’, ‘A Call to Action: The Casting Process’, ‘The Making Of Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’), and a digital copy of the film.

If you haven’t checked out the promo vid for Evil Dead: The Musical do so here. Lots of red syrup and possessed hand action makes for a seemingly faithful, campy adaptation of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell’s classic goofball horror. The Toronto production has released three poster spoofs of the Broadway staples Hairspray, Mamma Mia! and Les Miserables. Let us know if you’ve seen the play (did you sit in the splatter section?) in the comments!

Update: /Film reader, The Addict, points out an online petition to bring the production back to the States. Canadian /Film reader, Jonny, also points out that those “Canada: America’s Hat” Busted Tees ads on our site are offensive.

I always say that musicals just aren’t my thing. Maybe it’s the after effects of being forced to watch The Sound Of Music as a kid way more times than anyone should. But in recent years I’ve discovered that the modern musical ain’t so bad. I believe it started with Moulin Rouge, and flowed into Chicago, than last year with Dreamgirls and this year with Hairspray. I haven’t seen Sweeney Todd yet, but I’m betting I’ll like it. Either musicals have changed, or I’ve just come to appreciate them.

But then comes the trailer for Mamma Mia!, which doesn’t look interesting to me in the least. The musical numbers look more like something you would see in a television production than the big screen. The dreadful close-ups and bad acting just look all so aweful. Please, someone, convince me that I’m wrong. Point out the genius that I’m not finding, and tell em why I should be hyped for this film adaptation.